Shoppers on North Michigan Avenue, June 22, 2010. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)

The Magnificent Mile is emerging from the recession like most of America: Less bling and more bargains.

North Michigan Avenue is on the mend, thanks to the arrival of off-price stores and discount chains that are moving into large swaths of space, some of it empty for years.

The pending arrival of off-price stores Nordstrom Rack and TJX’s HomeGoods, combined with the 2009 openings of fast-fashion clothing store Zara and electronics giant Best Buy, helped lift the boulevard to its best performance since 2003, according to an annual retail vacancy survey from real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Inc. provided exclusively to the Tribune.
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